# Problem with: yum module, with\_items, composite-variable **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [March 1, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439 "2013-03-01T18:48:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asad\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@Asad\_Khan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Asad_Khan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/1 "2013-03-01T18:48:41Z")
Variable resolution seems to fail on the second iteration of a with\_items used with yum, but only if the variable is “composite” i.e. an expression involving other variables. Here is the playbook: vars: pkg\_list: - jdk - httpd pkg\_versions: { “jdk”: “1.6.0\_31-fcs”, “httpd”: “2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1” } tasks: - name: Composite-Variable resolution works fine with the copy module action: copy src=/tmp/${item}-${pkg\_versions.${item}} dest=/tmp with\_items: ${pkg\_list} - name: … but does not work with the yum module action: yum pkg=${item}-${pkg\_version.${item}} state=installed ## This doesn’t work #action: yum pkg=${item} state=installed ## This works with\_items: ${pkg\_list} The output is: [ansible@dev-autoserver-01 ~]$ ansible-playbook /etc/ansible/sys-plays/testyumbug.yml -v PLAY [Test Playbook] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [10.120.210.61] TASK: [Composite-Variable resolution works fine with the copy module] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item=jdk) =\> {“changed”: false, “dest”: “/tmp/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs”, “group”: “root”, “item”: “jdk”, “md5sum”: “d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e”, “mode”: “0644”, “owner”: “root”, “src”: “/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362162055.67-15730396780203/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs”, “state”: “file”} ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item=httpd) =\> {“changed”: false, “dest”: “/tmp/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1”, “group”: “root”, “item”: “httpd”, “md5sum”: “d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e”, “mode”: “0644”, “owner”: “root”, “src”: “/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362162056.13-226327540995443/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1”, “state”: “file”} TASK: [… but does not work with the yum module] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* failed: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item=jdk,httpd) =\> {“changed”: true, “failed”: true, “item”: “jdk,httpd”, “rc”: 0, “results”: [“\n================================================================================\n Package Arch Version Repository Size\n================================================================================\nInstalling:\n jdk x86\_64 2000:1.6.0\_38-fcs srt 56 M\n\nTransaction Summary\n================================================================================\nInstall 1 Package(s)\n\nTotal download size: 56 M\nInstalled size: 121 M\nUnpacking JAR files…\n\trt.jar…\n\tjsse.jar…\n\tcharsets.jar…\n\ttools.jar…\n\tlocaledata.jar…\n\tplugin.jar…\n\tjavaws.jar…\n\tdeploy.jar…\n\nInstalled:\n jdk.x86\_64 2000:1.6.0\_38-fcs \n\n”]} msg: No Package matching ‘httpd-${pkg\_version.${item}}’ found available, installed or updated FATAL: all hosts have already failed – aborting I don’t have a workaround yet, other than to either try to debug the yum module, or code my own replacement module. (The above is a completely contrived example just to reproduce the issue - the actual use-case is more involved and involves proprietary rpm’s; it’s not feasible to unroll the loop - I need to work with a list ) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/2 "2013-03-01T19:02:24Z")
It just looks like something is missing in your hash to me. Here's a much much cleaner way to do that: vars:   packages:       - { name: 'foo', version: 'xyz' }       - { name: 'bar', version: 'xyz' } tasks:    - yum: name=${item.name}-${item.version} state=installed      with\_items: $packages In general, when you start to use variables in ways where they all nest like that, it's time to simplify things. Ansible playbooks should be very easy to read. ---
**Author:** ![Asad\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@Asad\_Khan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Asad_Khan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/3 "2013-03-01T20:18:13Z")
I’m on 1.0, and I experimented with your suggestion: vars: pkgs: - { name: “jdk”, version: “1.6.0\_31-fcs” } - { name: “httpd”, version: “2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1” } tasks: - name: New style variable resolution action: copy src=/tmp/${item.name}-${item.version} dest=/tmp with\_items: $pkgs - name: … but does not work with the yum module action: yum name=${item.name}-${item.version} state=installed with\_items: $pkgs I got the following: LAY [Test Playbook] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [10.120.210.61] TASK: [New style variable resolution] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item={‘version’: ‘1.6.0\_31-fcs’, ‘name’: ‘jdk’}) =\> {“changed”: false, “dest”: “/tmp/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs”, “group”: “root”, “item”: {“name”: “jdk”, “version”: “1.6.0\_31-fcs”}, “md5sum”: “d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e”, “mode”: “0644”, “owner”: “root”, “src”: “/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362168335.16-67188730965918/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs”, “state”: “file”} ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item={‘version’: ‘2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1’, ‘name’: ‘httpd’}) =\> {“changed”: false, “dest”: “/tmp/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1”, “group”: “root”, “item”: {“name”: “httpd”, “version”: “2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1”}, “md5sum”: “d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e”, “mode”: “0644”, “owner”: “root”, “src”: “/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362168335.63-42039443662886/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1”, “state”: “file”} TASK: [… but does not work with the yum module] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* fatal: [10.120.210.61] =\> Traceback (most recent call last): File “/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/ansible/runner/ **init**.py”, line 237, in \_executor exec\_rc = self.\_executor\_internal(host) File “/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/ansible/runner/ **init**.py”, line 287, in \_executor\_internal inject[‘item’] = “,”.join(items) TypeError: sequence item 0: expected string, dict found FATAL: all hosts have already failed – aborting Could this be a 1.0 vs 1.1 issue? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/4 "2013-03-01T20:37:28Z")
There is no 1.1 issue, I just gave you a bad example syntax. name="foo=1.0" Not a dash. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Daniel_Hokka_Zakriss)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/5 "2013-03-01T21:29:51Z")
Asad Khan wrote: > I'm on 1.0, and I experimented with your suggestion: > >   vars: >      pkgs: >        - { name: "jdk", version: "1.6.0\_31-fcs" } >        - { name: "httpd", version: "2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1" } > >   tasks: >      - name: New style variable resolution >        action: copy src=/tmp/${item.name}-${item.version} dest=/tmp >        with\_items: $pkgs > >     - name: .. but does not work with the yum module >       action: yum name=${item.name}-${item.version} state=installed >       with\_items: $pkgs > > I got the following: > > LAY [Test Playbook] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > > GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [10.120.210.61] > > TASK: [New style variable resolution] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item={'version': '1.6.0\_31-fcs', 'name': 'jdk'}) > =\> > {"changed": false, "dest": "/tmp/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs", "group": "root", > "item": {"name": "jdk", "version": "1.6.0\_31-fcs"}, "md5sum": > "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", > "src": > "/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362168335.16-67188730965918/jdk-1.6.0\_31-fcs", > "state": "file"} > ok: [10.120.210.61] =\> (item={'version': '2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1', 'name': > 'httpd'}) =\> {"changed": false, "dest": > "/tmp/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1", "group": "root", "item": {"name": > "httpd", "version": "2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1"}, "md5sum": > "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", > "src": > "/home/ansible/.ansible/tmp/ansible-1362168335.63-42039443662886/httpd-2.2.15-15.el6.centos.1", > "state": "file"} > > TASK: [.. but does not work with the yum module] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > fatal: [10.120.210.61] =\> Traceback (most recent call last): >   File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/ansible/runner/\_\_init\_\_.py", line > 237, in \_executor >     exec\_rc = self.\_executor\_internal(host) >   File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/ansible/runner/\_\_init\_\_.py", line > 287, in \_executor\_internal >     inject['item'] = ",".join(items) > TypeError: sequence item 0: expected string, dict found This is from the yum/apt optimization for with\_items. Can you file an issue on Github for it? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/6 "2013-03-01T21:33:31Z")
> This is from the yum/apt optimization for with\_items. Can you file an issue > on Github for it? While this is the root cause, it doesn't detract from that being something we can simplify and not even get into that corner 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asad\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@Asad\_Khan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Asad_Khan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/7 "2013-03-01T21:38:24Z")
OK, doing so ---
**Author:** ![Asad\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@Asad\_Khan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Asad_Khan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/8 "2013-03-01T21:53:15Z")
Ticket here: [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/2258](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/2258) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/9 "2013-03-01T23:33:57Z")
Fixed! Yeah the with\_items optimization shouldn't run in this case. And now it doesn't, you should be good to go! ---
**Author:** ![Asad\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac8455/32.png) [@Asad\_Khan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Asad_Khan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/10 "2013-03-02T02:11:00Z")
Nice. I will test this out soon, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Dmitry\_Horbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Dmitry\_Horbach](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Dmitry_Horbach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/11 "2013-06-07T12:45:59Z")
Hi, I have a slightly different case - I’m trying to composite package name with full path to RPM > - name: installing required packages > action: yum name=$tmp\_dir/$item state=installed > with\_items: > - packageA.rpm > - packageB.rpm > sudo: yes Name will be resolved as /tmp/packageA.rpm,packageB.rpm which correctly resolves only for the first package. Is there any better way to install multiple rpm’s using absolute path? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan2)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/12 "2013-06-07T15:23:08Z")
The yum module automatically combines with\_items to avoid multiple transactions, so no, that won’t work. Since you are installing local RPMs, switch to the command or shell module and call RPM, perhaps. –Michael ---
**Author:** ![Seth\_Vidal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Seth\_Vidal](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Seth_Vidal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/13 "2013-06-07T21:22:18Z")
OR do this: - name: installing required packages   action: yum name=$item state=installed   with\_items:     - $tmp\_dir/packageA.rpm     - $tmp\_dir/packageB.rpm   sudo: yes -sv ---
**Author:** ![Dmitry\_Horbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Dmitry\_Horbach](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Dmitry_Horbach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/14 "2013-06-11T12:12:26Z")
Thanks for suggestions. Initially i was using with\_items: - $tmp\_dir/packageA.rpm but this gives a lot of duplicated prefixes. Also as I try to move all configuration items into vars files I ended up with nice sets which can be overriden on role level. vars: ```auto > set_version: 8 > rpmset_8: > - packageA.rpm > - packageB.rpm > rpmset: $rpmset_{{ set_version }} task: > - name: installing rpms > command: /bin/rpm -Uhv $tmp_dir/{{ item }} > with_items: $rpmset ``` Drawback - multiple transactions. Can yum module support something optional like chdir parameter? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan2)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:44am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/problem-with-yum-module-with-items-composite-variable/12439/15 "2013-06-12T10:44:31Z")
No chdir parameter. I would go with Seth’s suggestion above as it solves the with\_items question, and also does one transaction.